


Devotion's Distance

by CourierNinetyTwo



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, Post-volume 4
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-26
Updated: 2017-07-26
Packaged: 2018-12-07 10:00:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 961
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11621247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CourierNinetyTwo/pseuds/CourierNinetyTwo
Summary: The scroll came to Weiss at an inn just outside a small Atlas village, at the last place anyone should have known where to find her.





	Devotion's Distance

**Author's Note:**

> Written for dashingicecream's birthday!

The scroll came to Weiss at an inn just outside a small Atlas village, at the last place anyone should have known where to find her. **  
**

She received it from the owner of the place wrapped in non-descript brown paper, ignoring the man’s curious look before retiring to her room to open it. There was no address on the outside, no name, but as soon as Weiss saw the cracked, frosted-over screen, she knew who it was from. A Menagerie customs stamp was faded on one corner, but even after rubbing the ice off with one sleeve, Weiss couldn’t get the device to turn on.

A frustrated huff left her lips before she turned the scroll over, using one nail to turn the tiny screws on the battery case and pop it open. There the source of Weiss’ problem became clear: someone had tucked a note between the lid and battery, preventing the contacts from catching. She pried the bent paper out with care, unfolding it under the dim light of the Dust-powered lamp on the table.

Five words jumped off the page, but they were enough to make Weiss’ heart start beating out of control.

_I hope this reaches you._

Underneath was a symbol Weiss would always be able to decipher, the Belladonna sigil that marked everything Blake owned. Awash in disbelief, Weiss reassembled the scroll as fast as she could before flipping it over again to hit the power button. It flickered to life, starting slow thanks to the cold, but finally displaying the main screen. There were no apps or identifying markers, only a single video file.

After taking a deep breath, Weiss tapped the video to prompt it to play.

Blake was clearly in the jungle somewhere, dark trees with heavy leaves right behind her head. Just seeing the Faunus’ face was enough to make tears spring to the corners of Weiss’ eyes, but she stubbornly ignored them as the other girl began to speak.

“Weiss, if you’re watching, somehow this scroll made it past half a dozen couriers and coded messages. I don’t know where you are right now, but I told the right people how to find you if they could.” With a sigh, Blake leaned back against a thick trunk, rubbing golden eyes; she looked exhausted. “I’m leaving Menagerie. I’m coming back.”

Weiss’ jaw dropped at that. They had only a few minutes to speak in the aftermath of Beacon’s destruction, when Blake made it clear she was going to run again. She couldn’t even protest, knowing her father was waiting in the wings, sure to divide them regardless of anything else that happened. It hurt of course, like a wound that refused to scar, but she would rather Blake leave by choice than be ripped from her arms.

“The White Fang haven’t stopped. Adam’s spies found me here, and I’m not giving them a chance to ambush me again. I’m bringing the fight to them, all the way to Sienna Khan if I have to.” Blake smiled weakly. “Blood or not, my family needs to change. Just like yours.”

By instinct, Weiss reached out to touch the screen, as if it would let her hold Blake’s hand, to offer any comfort. The only response was cool glass, the video continuing to play.

“I can’t do it alone.” The Faunus sighed, glancing away from the camera for a moment as if she was staring at someone else. “And I don’t think you can either. We need to find each other again, find Ruby and Yang too. So this is where I’m going.”

Blake held up a map to the screen, a crude circle standing out around a small city in Mistral. “Khan’s base camp is in the forest beside this place. I know it’s not Atlas, but it’s a halfway point. Unless they run me off the continent, I’ll be there. Even if you can’t come here, try and send a message back. I…”

Pain flickered through bright eyes as Blake swallowed hard, and even with the weak resolution of the video, Weiss could see she was trying not to cry. “I miss you so much, Weiss. And this is probably going to get to you way too late for the words to mean anything, but…happy birthday.”

At that, Weiss let out a soft laugh. Her birthday was in a matter of hours, and she had planned to spend it hidden in this Nevermore nest of an inn. That any sort of well-wishing would reach her here hadn’t even crossed her mind, much less that Blake would somehow find a way.

“The end of this message is encrypted.” The Faunus continued, violet-lined ears perking up a little – she must have abandoned the bow completely, Weiss realized – before she managed another small smile. “Use the coordinates in it to contact me if you can. I hope you’re somewhere safe. I love you.”

The video fizzled to garbled static, putting out a message that Weiss would have to clean up later. With a shaky exhale, she put the scroll down, taking in everything she had just heard. Proof that Blake was alive and well would have been enough by itself, but the fact that she was planning on driving a knife into the White Fang’s belly was enough to leave Weiss in awe.

Shaking off the haze, she reached for her own scroll, the one Winter had wiped clean except a connection to a single private line. It would drop a message to her sister with a day’s delay, hidden in military chatter where their father didn’t have ears.

“I love you too, Blake.” Weiss whispered under her breath, and began to type fast as her fingers could bear.

Tomorrow, she was going to Mistral.

–


End file.
